Wulsin (also known as Abbot Ulsinus) was a ninth- or tenth-century
abbot of
St Alban's Abbey
St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be a ...
,
England. According to the 13th-century chronicler
Matthew Paris, in 948 he founded
St Albans School, which is still active.
Abbot Wulsin (Ulsinus) also founded the
St Albans Market in an attempt to establish a settlement within the confines of the abbey. According to the Abbey Chronicles, the Abbot Wulsin "... loved the area of St. Albans and the people who lived there and sought to improve it. He made it possible for people to come and live there, bringing them together from the surrounding areas, adding to and enlarging the market, and also helped those constructing buildings with the cost of timber..." The date given for this activity is 948 although it is now generally considered that Wulsin's floruit was earlier, around 860–880.
Towards the end of the 9th century, Wulsin built churches at the three entrances to the town, on the streets now known as St Peter's Street, St Michael's Street and St Stephen's Hill, to welcome pilgrims on their way to the shrine of
St Alban
Saint Alban (; la, Albanus) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded ...
inside the abbey church.
St Peter's is located to the northeast of the abbey.
St Michael's lies to the west among the foundations of the old basilica (law-court) of
Roman Verulamium, where
Alban was condemned to die. Bearing in mind that, in
sending the first missionaries to Britain,
Pope Gregory Gregory has been the name of sixteen Roman Catholic Popes and two Antipopes:
*Pope Gregory I ("the Great"; 590–604), after whom the Gregorian chant is named
*Pope Gregory II (715–731)
*Pope Gregory III (731–741)
*Pope Gregory IV (827–844)
* ...
had instructed them to build churches on important pagan sites, this can hardly be a coincidence. The first churches were likely to have been simple timber structures. The town of
St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
grew around these establishments.
Ulsinus diverted
Watling Street, which linked
St Stephen's and St Michael's, in order to bring traffic through the town centre (the abbey owned the market rights and also charged tolls). This brought traffic up Holywell Hill, which is named after a medieval holy well, and it was along this route that the supplies for the Abbey were transported.
Wotherspoon, M. et al., Archaeological Solutions, "18 & 19 George Street, St. Albans: Historic Building Appraisal
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References
Abbots of St Albans
10th-century English clergy
10th-century Christian monks
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